Wimbleweird

Trophy troubles. It's all good ... (USAT) pic.twitter.com/aR7MUcZWfs
— Joe Fleming (@ByJoeFleming) July 7, 2013

Wimbleweird. Wimblegeddon. Wimble-done. These were just some of the puns that were  used by die hard and casual tennis fans alike to describe the recently concluded Wimbledon Championships. Who could blame them, really, after the tournament lost former champion Rafael Nadal in the first day (!) of the tournament? Who would have thought that Nadal would go out in straight sets to 135th-ranked Steve Darcis? Who also would have thought that Roger Federer would follow him out of Wimbledon by the third day of the tournament, losing to 116th-ranked Sergiy Stakhovsky? The leading women were also not exempt themselves as Victoria Azarenka (retiring due to a knee injury sustained while in the competition), Maria Sharapova (losing to young ace Michelle Larcher De Brito), Ana Ivanovic (bowing out to former Junior Wimbledon champ Eugenie Bouchard), Caroline Wozniacki and Jelena Jankovic were all out of the competition by the time Federer and his orange-soled shoes said their goodbye. 

By the second week, things seemed back to normal. Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray (Britain's Great Hope), David Ferrer and Juan Martin del Potro were still in. So were Serena Williams (the heavy favorite to win), Petra Kvitova, Agnieszka Radwanska and Li Na. 

As the top seeds, Djokovic and Serena were now the overwhelming favorites to win. Djokovic stuck to the script and defeated a resurgent del Potro in an epic semifinal to forge a date with Murray, who many is expecting to finally extinguish the ghost of Fred Perry after 77 years. Murray's campaign last year, while so close, still ended in tears and heartbreak.  

Serena, on the other hand, bowed to the grass loving German Sabine Lisicki. Unfortunately for Serena, Lisicki's main specialty since 2009 has been to upset the current Roland Garros champion at Wimbledon.  When the dust finally settled on the women's side, Lisicki and quirky Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli (she of the comedic serve and hilarious practice swings in between points) were the only ones left. Thus, the Ladies Final featured two players that have never won a Grand Slam trophy before. In the end, it was second time Wimbledon finalist Bartoli who hoisted the trophy after Lisicki was rattled by a severe case of stage fright.

On the men's side, destiny seemed to be smiling on Murray's side. He almost never made it to the finals after being pushed to the brink by Fernando Verdasco (he of the perfectly gelled hair that never moves) in the quarterfinals and Polish up-and-comer Jerzy Janowicz in the semis. 

The whole Murray-Djokovic final was, sorry for the word, dreadful in the sense that there were lots of looooong rallies and not a lot of taking chances and hitting winners from both sides. Djokovic seemed not himself as he was missing a lot on his favored backhand down the line shots. I guess losing last year's final endeared Murray to a lot of hometown fans since one can feel how immensely invested they were in every Murray point. (In the past, Britons seemed to cheer for Murray out of duty because they had no other British guy to cheer for.) Fans were totally behind him, even cheering belatedly (and mistakenly) for points that did not go their countryman's way. You can also feel how Murray was soaking all the love and adoration in as he seemed very positive and happy to be out there. Murray finally defeats Djokovic after a dramatic final game (which, if Djokovic had won, could've led to a momentum shift) to become the first British man to win Wimbledon in 77 years. Tears of joy and goosebumps everywhere! 

In the end, this year's Wimbledon was a tournament for dreamers and believers. A tournament that will be remembered for the crazy ones who believed that they could defeat the Rafas, Rogers, Serenas and Marias of the world. It showed that everyone, no matter what their rank is or no matter the amount of struggle that they had to endure in the past, has an equal chance at Grand Slam glory. So, yeah, I think this video somewhat sums up this year's Wimbledon perfectly:

The "Must" List: Baby Bump Gap

Forehand Policy's usual round-up of a few must read/see/view things that you guys (as in the five people who read my blog) might find interesting.

*Giggling Ryan Gosling = Official Mascot of my blog site.

*So what does make the US a world superpower? Definitely not it's military power or its economic might (duh!) but the likes of People, Us Weekly, Star Magazine, Perez Hilton and the National Enquirer. Take that, North Korea.

*I really pride myself for my choice of absolute tennis faves (even if they don't win a lot). I love you, Andy Murray.

*Looks like everyone's excited for the Australian Open.

*Dear China: please please please be nice to us Filipinos. Want to know why? Because it pays to be nice in international politics, according to Steve Walt.

*Seriously, Ryan Lochte. Can't you just be on The Bachelor or Dancing with the Stars?

That's so last year.

I already wanted to forget about Gangnam Style but then this happened:

Ugh. Why are you guys so cute? 

P. S.
For more Ana - Novak Hopman Cup goodness, click here and here. (Warning: Cuteness overload.)

MFEO

from @hopmancup

From The Australian:

THEIR athleticism aside, travellers who caught a glimpse of two Europeans travelling on a flight from Perth to Melbourne in early 2011 might have assumed they were fun-loving backpackers. 
 
Separated by two rows in economy class, the brunette waited until her friend had fallen asleep before sneaking up to him and clapping loudly. Hysterics followed at the statuesque Serb's over-the-top reaction.

Later, the young woman snoozed for a while using her friend's shoulder as a support. It was an intimacy of close friends rather than that of a couple.

With passengers on the packed plane seemingly oblivious to their identities, the pair were left to themselves. A year later and it almost certainly would have been different.

Just three weeks after that trip, the young man -- Novak Djokovic -- claimed the first of three grand slams for the year in establishing himself as the dominant tennis player in the world. Ana Ivanovic, his mate, arguably was even more famous at the time.

...

It is that friendship that Ivanovic touched on yesterday when the pair joined forces for Serbia's opening Hopman Cup victory over Italy in Perth.

As toddlers, the pair threw sand in each others' faces. Later they swatted backhands. Before play yesterday, they embraced on the outdoor practice court before going about their business in impressive fashion.

"We met each other when we were four years old. We didn't even play tennis at the time," Ivanovic said.

"My father and his uncle knew each other from school days, so we were playing in the sand and it is just really, really funny to see him do so well now. It is really nice to catch up and obviously he is my favourite doubles partner.

"(He was) always funny, always making jokes. You know boys. He was always running around the whole time.

"Then we played some tournaments, some under-10s, under-12s back in Serbia, then we were travelling together, so it is nice to catch up and we also have some real memories."

Djokovic, who only arrived in Perth late on Sunday night after adding to his riches with a victory in an exhibition event in Abu Dhabi, certainly clowned around during a dead mixed doubles against Andreas Seppi and Francesca Schiavone.

...

While it carries less prestige than the Davis or Fed cups, this pair is desperate to claim the title for Serbia given their friendship and seemed certain to do so two years ago until Ivanovic was forced to withdraw from the final -- the day before they shared the flight to Melbourne -- with a stomach injury.

"It is a big goal for me and Novak as well. We have come close a few times and the last time here it was very, very disappointing for me," she said. "I really hope I can play better this year and help Novak and hopefully together we can get the trophy."

Yeah, right. Friends... I do love watching the two of them play together. It's the main reason why I woke up really early today to catch their Hopman Cup tie against Italy. (I'm on my holiday break so 10 AM is quite early for me.) Ana blitzed Francesca Schiavone during their singles match, 6-0 6-4, while Novak had to fight off jet lag (he only arrived in Australia less than 24 hours ago from Abu Dhabi) to beat Andreas Seppi, 6-3 6-4.  Team Serbia a.k.a. Team Barbie and Ken lost to the Italians in the mixed dubs, 6-7 4-6. Despite the loss, Ana and Novak were, as always, fun to watch together. Ana always seems so relaxed and smiley around him while Novak does his best to always make her laugh and feel comfortable. Sigh.

Barbie and Ken

Can't wait to see these two at the Hopman Cup again.

 

I wonder if they were this age when they started playing Barbie and Ken together.

 

The "Must" List: Muppets against Romney? LOL.

Here's a round-up of a few must read/see/view things that you guys might find interesting.

* So, there's Sesame Street Diplomacy and now there's US presidential candidate Mitt Romney going after Big Bird during his first live debate with incumbent president Barack Obama. Who knew that these muppets could wield so much power and influence?  

* Thanks, Patricia Evangelista, for telling us what the future could look like with Sen. Tito Sotto as the King of Cyberspace. God save the Philippines.

* Roger Federer being, well, like Roger Federer:

"I think he's done so well," Federer added. "His reaction was amazing after not winning Wimbledon against me.
"Then coming back to win the Olympics and bringing the victory home for his first Grand Slam at the US Open was great to see.
"I was very impressed and I'm sure that's going to give him confidence for what's to come.
"How me, Novak and Rafa - whenever he comes back - and the rest of the players will play will have a little bit of an impact.
"But, overall, Andy has some control over that himself now."

* Novak Djokovic dancing Psy's Gangnam Style. Tennis is so cool.

* And I've missed you too.

* Anna Wintour is a big fan of tennis. She's also a big fan of Homeland. Who knew that we had a lot of things in common?

* Team Nicki Minaj or Team Mariah? Let BuzzFeed help you decide.

Golden Boy

Roger Federer has a Rafa Nadal problem. Rafa has a Novak Djokovic problem. Novak has a Roger problem. Poor Andy Murray has a lot of problems. Andy lost to Novak in the semis of the Australian Open. He was no match for Rafa at the semis of Roland Garros. He was reduced to tears after losing to Roger in the finals of Wimbledon just a couple of weeks ago.

This has been the story of Andy Murray's career. He has been to four Grand Slam finals already but has never managed to win one. The Scot was simply unlucky to be Britain's only tennis hope during the time that Roger, Rafa and Novak were extremely dominant. It has been said several times that Murray's tactical, but defensive, game would not be enough to topple the big 3 and win him a Grand Slam. His strategy of just waiting for his opponents to make mistakes was just not going to cut it.

I can't remember the specific match that I saw that made me a big Andy Murray fan. I remember becoming a big Ana Ivanovic fan when I saw a replay of her semifinal match on tv against fellow Serbian Jelena Jankovic during Roland Garros '08. I just remember being impressed by how cleanly she hit her forehand. Up to this day, I still think it's the most beautiful shot in the game. I took tennis lessons before just to be able to copy the Ivanovic forehand (to no success). I know Ana's game like the back of my hand and heck even her body language when she enters the court. My friend Erny and I would text each other every time we are able to catch a match of hers live on tv. We would make predictions as to how she would play judging by how she looked and acted as she entered the court. It may be a talent but we are rarely wrong when making Ana-related predictions.

I have seen a lot of Andy's matches even before I became a big fan of his. While I admired his very tactical game, I just wasn't that enamored with it in the beginning. On the men's side I tended to root for Roger or Novak a lot. In a match that doesn't feature any of them, I root for the, uhm, more good-looking player (e.g. Ernests Gulbis, Tomas Berdych, Juan Monaco, Simone Bolelli). But then came one eureka moment when I was watching Andy in a Wimbledon 2010 match. I can't remember who he was playing against but something just clicked inside my brain. I was suddenly able to distinguish how differently he adjusted his game, specifically how he hits his backhand, from one surface to another. It was like my mind became a television screen and Andy's game was shown on slo-mo and in several split screens playing on a slow hard court, a clay court, a grass court and a fast hard court. I think it was during that time that I realized, for better or worse, that I was a bona fide tennis nerd. From then on I realized that I was watching tennis from a very technical point of view.

After that match, I just couldn't switch the channel every time an Andy Murray match is on tv. I started reading articles about him and I just totally fell in love with the guy's dry British (or Scottish?) humor and with the unintentional hilarity that seemed to follow him.  It also helped that he is very complimentary of women's tennis (I'm looking at you, Gilles Simon) and that his girlfriend's dad (Nigel Sears, dad of Kim Sears) is currently coaching Ana. Probably what I found most endearing about him was how honest and aware he was of the pressure of being Britain's great tennis hope in probably the greatest men's tennis era of all time. Andy knows how talented he is but is just unable to get to the next level. He's a classic Feza fave: an extremely talented person who chokes when they are about to reach their moment. I guess I'm lucky that I attended a school for fans that taught students how to poke fun at their favorites that's why I am still able to  root for the likes of Ana Ivanovic and Andy Murray a.k.a. headcases. I still believe, no matter what, that (a) Ana can win another Slam, (b) that Andy will defeat one of the top 3 in a Slam final and win at least Wimbledon and that (c) they can still be multiple Slam champions. I always add, though, in the end that (d) "I'm  delusional" and that (e) "the tennis gods have put a curse on me". I know. It's like believing in unicorns and in flying pigs.

But, at least for the past week or so, Andy was able to prove that (d) and (e) are not always true. He was able to prove that rooting for headcases is not always a lost cause. I know that winning a gold medal at the Olympics may not mean the same as winning a Grand Slam for many people but, hello, how many tennis players can claim that they've won a singles gold medal? Not even Roger, who has won a career Slam and has 17 Grand Slam titles, can claim that he has won a gold medal on his own (I refuse to include his doubles gold medal with Stan Wawrinka in the statistic). Not even Novak with his invincible 43-0 win-loss record at the start of 2011 has a gold medal. With the right mix of defense and aggression (and an improved forehand, thanks to his coach and tennis great Ivan Lendl), Andy defeated both Roger and Novak on his way to winning the gold medal at the Olympics, in front of a hard to please home crowd. (Rafa, I hope he gets a chance against you next.) Obviously I'm praying that it could lead to a US Open title but I'll try not to think too far ahead. This is still Britain's first gold medal in tennis since 1908 (!). So, as a fan, I'm savoring this moment. This is as good as a Grand Slam and he officially won the gold medal as a representative of his country. The British tabloids can mock him some other time.

Wimbledon round-up

Taken from @breakingserve's Twitter timeline

 *Maria Ivanovic and Sabine Goerges? Are you kidding me, WTA?!

*Ana Ivanovic (she's a legit tennis player, trust me) is now in the 4th round of Wimbledon after defeating Julia Goerges in a tight three-setter in yesterday's match. (Dear Star Sports, you still owe me for cutting the match at 4 - 3 in the third set with Ana leading and then switching to Serena Williams-Zheng Jie. Not cool, guys. Not cool at all.) Ana's last three wins have not been as pretty as she is but, as a fan, I'll take them. She hasn't been winning a lot of three-set matches and tie-breaks these past couple of months so her last wins at Wimby should really give her a mental boost when she faces current Australian Open champion and world number 2, Victoria Azarenka, in the 4th round. Should she beat Azarenka, Ana would be in her first Slam quarterfinal since her French Open win last 2008. She could also be back in the top 10 again.

*Golden opportunity for Andy Murray: Rafa Nadal, who almost always is in Andy's half of the draw, was uncharacteristically booted out in the 2nd round of Wimby by Czech Lukas Rosol, who is ranked 100th in the world. (Rosol was, however, unable to sustain his run as he bowed out to German Philipp Kohlschreiber in the 3rd round.) I know that Andy's path to the finals is still littered with landmines (he's up against Marin Cilic next and could still face the likes of David Ferrer, Juan Martin del Potro, Mardy Fish and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga), but Nadal being eliminated early gives him a fantastic opportunity to get into the finals of his Home Slam. Here's hoping he finally replicates Fred Perry's achievement.

*Equal prize money: Gilles Simon, who is maybe a Saudi national at heart, has re-ignited a controversy by saying that women tennis players don't deserve to be paid the same as their male counterpart since more people find men's tennis more interesting than that of the women's. Thus, business-wise, they should get more money. What a chauvinist pig. Obviously, the female players were not very happy with him. I'm personally offended as a woman. Shouldn't he be happy that tennis, as compared to other sports, is giving equal opportunity for both sexes? Also, like what Maria Sharapova said before to those arguing that men should be compensated more for playing best of five matches during Slams, it's like watching a movie. Do you pay more for a 3 hour long movie than one that is only 1 1/2 hours long? Does it also mean that a 3 hour movie is automatically of higher quality than a 1 1/2 hour one? Besides, not all men's best of five matches go the distance anyway and not all women's best of three matches finish early. John Isner and Nicolas Mahut made history by playing the longest match ever but it wasn't high quality (while the feat is admirable, I bet many wouldn't want another Isner-Mahut saga). It's hilarious when someone pointed out on Twitter that if only prize money was based on the number of winners that are hit in every match, Simon (who plays an extremely defensive game) would have a lot more complaining to do.

*A little drama on the ATP side: Men's tennis has always been the Big 4 show. Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray are almost always demolishing early round opponents and then continue on to face each other in the semifinals of each Slam. It was different at Wimby this year. Rafa was eliminated early, Roger Federer had to dig deep to come back from two sets down to beat Frenchman Julien Benneteau and Novak Djokovic had to struggle to overcome pesky Radek Stepanek. It's funny because, out of the four, it's actually Andy Murray who hasn't been the source of major drama this early in a Slam. It's also refreshing to see drama this early come from the ATP side, not from the WTA. The women's draw is still pretty balanced and has plenty of Slam winners and former number 1s left.

UPDATED: French Open round-up

*Uhm, Adolf, Ana Ivanovic doesn't have a Twitter account. (But you could threaten to "unlike" her on Facebook.)

*Ana Ivanovic is already out of Roland Garros after suffering a 6-1 5-7 3-6 defeat at the hands of Sara Errani. (I'm as pissed as Hitler is with this result.) Reaching the 3rd round this year was, of course, a much better showing than her 1st round exit last year. However, this was another squandered opportunity for Ana because a win against Errani would've given her an easier road to the semifinals after the losses of Venus Williams, Aga Radwanska and Marion Bartoli. She could've also entered the top 10 and inched closer to a spot for the year-end championships. It's also unfortunate since Roland Garros has been her best slam to date (was a back-to-back finalist from 2007-'08 and winner in '08). Hopefully the second half of the tennis season would be kinder to the former world number 1.

*Old man (and "drama queen", at least according to Virginia Wade) Andy Murray, who is struggling with a back injury, has defied early exit predictions from pundits and is now in the 4th round of RG. He is set to face hugely talented but incredibly inconsistent Frenchman, Richard Gasquet, who took him to five sets in their previous match at RG last 2010.

*Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal have both cruised in all of their matches so far. The Djoker is bidding to match Rod Laver's record of holding all four major titles simultaneously. Those who could prevent him on his side of the draw are Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Roger Federer, who prevented him from winning RG last year. Federer has, however, struggled in his last two matches, dropping two sets in his matches against Adrian Ungur and Nicolas Mahut. Rafa, considered the King of Clay, is gunning for a seventh RG crown. Those who could stand in his way to the finals are Janko Tipsarevic, David Ferrer, Nicolas Almagro and Murray.

*Like Djokovic, Maria Sharapova is also after history as she chases a career slam. RG is so far the only trophy that is missing in her Grand Slam cabinet. Her road to RG has gotten easier as the tennis gods have eliminated Serena Williams (who could've been her quarterfinal opponent), Caroline Wozniacki and Francesca Schiavone. Petra Kvitova and last year's champion, Li Na, could play spoilers to her date with destiny.

UPDATED
*With Vika Azarenka's loss to Domi Cibulkova in the 4th round, Masha would now have the chance to take over number 1 ranking if she reaches the final. Destiny is indeed smiling at the self-described Siberian "cow on ice".

Why Novak Djokovic should return to Adidas

From CNBC's Darren Rovell:

In November of 2009, Novak Djokovic signed a 10-year apparel deal with Sergio Tacchini, as his former sponsor adidas put its money in Andy Murray. It was a huge coup for the brand, who once had Pete Sampras and John McEnroe, but hadn’t been able to find relevance. 

But on Tuesday, Tacchini announced in a statement that the two had mutually decided to part ways. The reasoning? The small brand couldn’t handle the success that the Serbian player had with them.

In their clothes, Djokovic has won four majors, including the Australian Open twice. He has also won 84.7 percent of his matches (161 out of 190) and has been No. 1 in the world for nearly 11 consecutive months.

Novak Djokovic has also recently confirmed on his Twitter account that he is now officially with Uniqlo, a Japanese apparel company. Uniqlo also sponsors Japanese tennis ace, Kei Nishikori. I'm a bit disappointed that Nole didn't sign up with either of the two biggest apparel brands in sports, Nike and Adidas.

It's unfortunate that Sergio Tacchini wasn't able to capitalize on the Djoker's success. I also feel sorry for Djokovic since Sergio Tacchini was also unable to help him solidify his personal brand. Despite his enormous success last year, he still couldn't compete against Roger Federer's or Rafa Nadal's drawing power. The two are still the biggest names in men's tennis and this can also be attributed to the fact that they're backed by Nike, a global apparel giant that's not only able to create lovely designs for the two, but are also able to come up with very interesting marketing campaigns.

If I'm not mistaken, the only Grand Slam champion on Adidas' roster right now is French Open winner and former world no. 1 Ana Ivanovic. (Sorry, Andy Murray, those GS finals do not count. Caroline Wozniacki, being a slamless former no. 1 will also not cut it.) This is unfortunate considering that Adidas had the likes of Steffi Graff, Martina Hingis, Marat Safin and Anna Kournikova (she actually partnered with Hingis to win a women's doubles GS title) in the past. Nike, on the other hand, still has Federer, Nadal, US Open 2009 champion Juan Martin Del Potro, Maria Sharapova, Serena Williams, defending French Open champ Li Na, current women's world no. 1 and current Australian Open winner Victoria Azarenka and defending Wimbledon champ Petra Kvitova. Thus, it would be smart for both Adidas and Djokovic to get back together. Adidas needs another marketable GS champ. Djokovic needs a big time apparel sponsor that: (a) would not be burdened by his success and (b) would also help him build his personal brand.

Here are other reasons why Djokovic should come back to Adidas:

1) He looks great in Adidas (despite the weird color combos of some designs):

2 )They gave him a signature Adidas Falcon range that was perfect for his image. It was said that Djokovic, who also goes by the nickname "Nole", was playfully called "Nole Sokole " (Nole the Falcon) growing up.

3) I don't understand what they're saying in this 2008 video but he looks great promoting the brand with the queen of Adidas, childhood friend Ivanovic:

P.S.
Just to defend Murray, the Djoker was still not his invincible self during the time that he was with Adidas. Murray was, arguably, the more marketable one during that time since Adidas could use Murray's popularity to secure a bigger share in the UK market. The apparel brand probably couldn't also offer Djokovic a better deal because of Ivanovic's lifetime deal (which could have been much, much more lucrative if not for the career slump that followed her ascent to world no. 1). Ugh, now I'm sad for Ana, too. Oh, the what-could-have-beens...

The Curious Case of Ana Ivanovic

The video features highlights from the high-quality 2008 French Open semifinal featuring Ana Ivanovic and her fellow Serbian, Jelena Jankovic. Ana, dressed in a sleek, pink adidas kit would go on to defeat JJ in three sets in this match, book her third Grand Slam final (her second straight for 2008), become the #1 ranked women's tennis player in the world and win her first Slam trophy (beating Russian Dinara Safina). Ana was arguably the most popular Serbian during this time, even more popular than her childhood friend and fellow tennis player, Novak Djokovic. She even got me to start watching tennis again because I just absolutely loved her game. She hits the ball very cleanly and has a lovely, but lethal, forehand that she could hit from different sides of the court even if off-balanced. Ana also has a made for Hollywood story to tell that made me adore her even more (imagine arranging your practice sessions while dodging NATO bombs in war-torn Serbia and honing your tennis skills in an abandoned swimming pool for lack of a better facility?). 

Beautiful, smart, genuinely nice and charming (an anti-mean girl) and, most importantly, a very talented tennis player, Ana was the perfect face to represent the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) after Justine Henin's sudden retirement (she would come back in 2010 but then retire again in 2011 due to an elbow injury) and the Williams sisters inability to regularly compete in tournaments. The WTA finally hit the jackpot with Ana at #1 and Maria Sharapova at #2 (this was before Sharapova was sidelined by a shoulder injury that almost ended her career). Ana would, however, turn out to be the biblical Job of women's tennis. Niggling injuries, bad luck and humiliating losses (imagine losing in the second round of a Grand Slam tournament to the 188th-ranked player in the world while you're still #1 and be on the opposite end of probably the greatest upset in the history of sports) soon followed her Cinderella story. The pressure of being a marketable, top-ranked player was just too much for her to bear (for an account of her struggles for the past four years, click here). What followed was a long slump peppered with stops and gos, a loss in confidence and a dramatic fall in rankings (she fell to #65 in July of 2010). Fans (*ahem*) would get excited with a couple of good wins only to be deflated afterwards when she suffers a bad loss or when she picks up an injury that would derail her progress once again.

Amidst the bad breaks, heartbreaking losses and calls for her to drop tennis and take up modelling full time (the slump has thankfully never affected her good looks), Ana plodded on injury after injury and bad loss after another. She endured the endless questioning from the media about her poor form with enough insight, wit and self-deprecating humor (Ana fans picked up and learned to poke fun at her to cope with the heartbreaking losses). Always on the look out for ways to turnaround her game, Ana hired and fired several coaches (she's currently being coached by Nigel Sears) and just refused to give up. When Ana plays well, she's like an action hero who imperiously beats up her opponents to submission. When she loses, she's like a female version of Superman who wilts from kryptonite and steals defeat from the jaws of victory.

Fast forward to today and she's still not the same player that she was back in 2008. While Ana seems to have had the best start of the year than she has had in the last couple of years (a good showing at the Australian Open, Dubai and Indian Wells), she has so far not found her form on clay just yet. Considered her best surface (she was a back-to-back French Open finalist in 2007 and 2008), she is so far struggling on clay (4-8 win-loss record on this surface since 2010, currently 1-2 this year), which is unfortunate since she could pick up a lot of points during this time of the year to enable her to inch closer to the top 10 (she's currently at #15) and qualify for the WTA Year End Championships later this year. I hope she picks it up in her upcoming clay tournaments.

As a fan, I don't know if she could still be that fearless, adidas pink dress-wearing Ana from 2008 who managed to win a Grand Slam and get to #1 in one week (she hasn't reached a Grand Slam quarterfinal since winning the French Open in 2008). But there's still the hope and belief that her hard work and perseverance will be rewarded in the end. As much as people fell in love with her swimming pool story, nothing would be better than an uplifting comeback story. She's simply too nice and too talented not to have another shot at a Grand Slam title and a #1 ranking.

I guess you're mine now.

Professional golfer Adam Scott

Looks like Ana Ivanovic has split with her on-again, off-again Australian golfer boyfriend, Adam Scott. That means no more Ana Scott / Notting Hill references for the mean time. Not really too sad about this news since I think Ana looks better with this guy anyway. (Sorry, Novak's girlfriend.)

Thanks, Ana. That Diana Ross song is now stuck in my head.

Tennis stars singing by tenishaber

The French Open (Roland Garros) is probably my favorite out of all the four Grand Slam events on the tennis calendar. I just love watching the players run after balls and hit winners while sliding on the glorious red clay of Paris. It's also the first (and so far only) Slam that my absolute fave on the women's side, Ana Ivanovic, has won. I also love it because of the above video (sorry for the blurry quality). I think it's genius how the French were able to make our favorite tennis players sing and dance to cheesy karaoke songs. A few things that we can glean from the video: 

1) The French already predicted Novak Djokovic's rise to #1 as early as 2007. 

2) Roger Federer still thinks that he's the best even if he's not ranked #1. 

3) You can't make the Spanish armada sing a non-Spanish song. 

4) Michael Llodra is indeed racist. 

5) Gilles Simon is not gay. He's just a French guy who simply can't sing, dance and strip properly.

6) Ana Ivanovic will forever be a dork.

Heartbreak behind the bubbles...

Novak Djokovic defeats Andy Murray, 6-1 7-6 (7-4), in the finals of the Miami Masters. Congrats, Novak. Oh, Andy...